Montreal Jazz Fest entrusts private archives to BAnQ

Montreal's Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec announced on Monday that it has acquired the archives of the Montreal International Jazz Festival.

It is one of the library's largest private collections, with 2,660 videos and upwards of 1,800 hours of listening material.

"What counts the most, beyond the distinctions earned by this event so [closely tied to] Montreal's cultural life, it is first offered to the music lovers. Enthusiasts of today and tomorrow can now remember this music at their leisure," said festival vice-president André Ménard..

Ménard said the festival wanted to make sure this important piece of history remained in Quebec, rather than be sold abroad to the highest bidder.

The collection contains video productions dating back to the first edition of the festival, in 1980, until 2008.

There are so far 40 concerts for public viewing on the library's website, with notable performances by B.B. King, Miles Davis, Oliver Jones, Vic Vogel, Wynton Marsalis and Buddy Rich.

Eventually 300 videos of performances, interviews and special productions will be made available online.

Additional material will be available on the library's computer terminals.